Wage and Hour Co-Chair Weighs in on Debate Over ‘White Collar’ Overtime Exemptions

Hagood Tighe was tapped by Law.com to discuss the potential impact of sky-high inflation on employers, who may soon feel pressure via a bid by the federal government that would reclassify millions of U.S. workers as eligible for overtime.

According to Hagood, it’s a rule change employers need to look out for since it could require them to further increase pay or even redistribute job duties among large swaths of workers.

He discussed a hearing last summer, when Labor Secretary Marty Walsh indicated the U.S. Department of Labor is reviewing a rule it finalized in 2019 under the Trump administration that increased the salary threshold workers must meet to be eligible for so-called “white collar” overtime exemptions.

“Employers who had jobs that no longer met the salary threshold had to make some decisions. The first option was they could increase the salary to the new level,” he said. “The second option is that they could convert the person from a salaried to an hourly position.”

These tasks were easier said than done, Hagood said, since they required employers to evaluate whether any changes could inadvertently result in spending beyond their budget.

Read the full article at Law.com.